


Background Oneshots

by MollyBear3



Series: Without a Goodbye and Related Works [2]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Disguise, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-26
Updated: 2020-09-18
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:33:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,725
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24384361
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MollyBear3/pseuds/MollyBear3
Summary: Oneshots related to my story "Without a Goodbye."
Relationships: CT-27-5555 | Fives | ARC-5555 & CT-7567 | Rex, CT-7567 | Rex & Clone Troopers, CT-7567 | Rex/Ahsoka Tano
Series: Without a Goodbye and Related Works [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1760767
Comments: 19
Kudos: 212





	1. Door-to-Door Salesman

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this oneshot after a few different people requested it after the chapter entitled _Cody and Rex; Rex and Cody_. This one is for JumpersRule and WaterRose3.

To say that Rex was annoyed would be an understatement. They had been stuck on this Force forsaken dust ball (which to be completely honest was quite lovely, especially in comparison to some of their other campaigns) for four kriffing cycles and there was no progress to speak of. No wins, but no losses. It almost felt like some stupid training exercise.

Don’t get him wrong. In any other situation, he would love to be on that particular rock. The local plant and wildlife were not any trouble (except for when Hardcase tried to adopt one of the bigger catlike things, but that was remedied when the damn thing just walked off). The climate was temperate and often wonderful. There was only one problem with this campaign: the droid factory.

The factory was run by a cautious Federation leader with ray-shields and heavily fortified entrances and exits. Their heavy canons and artillery could do nothing to the factory, and it was impossible to get in to fight, so the factory didn’t even bother to fight the clones. It even once sent a welcoming basket filled with perfectly safe chocolates, cookies, muffins, and other baked goodies and a mocking welcoming card reading “Welcome to the neighborhood. Sincerely, The Confederacy of Independent Systems.” Needless to say, no one dared to eat the goods in front of the captain.

One day, while going over the defenses (again), Rex heard Fives knock on his door. (He knew it was Fives because only Fives banged on the door with both hands.) “Yes?” he called out.

“Captain! I have an idea for how we could break into the Seppies’ factory!” Fives exclaimed from behind the door.

“Well come on in! I’m all ears!” grinned Rex. After Fives didn’t come in, Rex got that feeling in the pit of his stomach that meant one of the men was about to do something stupid. “Fives?”

“You’re not gonna like it,” he said. Rex sighed.

“Just come in and tell me,” Rex called. He just wanted to get the stupid mission over with already. It looked bad when it took this long, especially since they weren’t doing much besides watching killing machines being shipped to the frontlines.

“I can’t!” called Fives, and Rex just wanted to hit something. “Just say it’s okay, and I’ll go on with it!” In Rex’s defense, he didn’t know what Fives was about to do nor would he have approved it if he had known.

“Fine! Not like we have much to lose anyway.” Rex had muttered that last part under his breath.

Two hours later, Rex was standing by as Fives, under the guise of a salesman, sauntered up to the door of the factory, looking absolutely unamused.

“If he lives through this, he’s on cleaning duty for a month,” he said through gritted teeth. Ahsoka softly laughed.

“What if this works?” she asked, loving this plan more and more by the second.

“Then, it’s two months,” he responded. Ahsoka laughed again, and Rex felt his annoyance lessen. She had that effect on him. Shinies had even taken to trying to time talking to Rex for times Ahsoka was around, just in case they needed her to calm him down over their screw-ups.

“Guys, be quiet,” Jesse whispered. “We have to listen in case Fives needs back-up.” Rex rolled his eyes. Fives was only second to Hardcase in the insanity ranking. Rex had no doubt Fives was going to be fine.

Over comms, Fives could be heard clearing his throat and knocking on the door. A gatekeeper droid popped out and asked what Fives wanted.

“Hi! My name is Jon Smythe, and I’m going door to door to talk to people about their blinker fluid,” Fives said. Rex could hear the shit-eating smile on his face and had to restraint himself from throwing his precious helmet straight down. Meanwhile, many of the men (and Ahsoka) were giggling about blinker fluid.

[We don’t need blinker fluid] responded the droid. [None of the droids here use blinker fluid]

“The droids don’t use blinker fluid? How do you let organics know where you are going?” asked Fives incredulously. More giggles to be heard.

[The droids built here are battle droids. Such actions go against their programming and would lessen their potential on the battlefield] answered the gatekeeper droid.

“But they answer to organic superiors, don’t they? Don’t the superiors need to know where the droids are headed?” Fives asked. A pause was heard, and just as Rex was about to call the damn thing off, the door opened and Fives entered. Within twenty minutes, Fives had the door open for the rest of the 501st, and, within an hour of the door opening, they had successfully closed the factory for good. It seemed in their haste to make the outside the ultimate defense, the designers skimped on the inside defense systems.

Rex still revoked the men’s holonet access for a month after this stunt as he thought it would be a bad idea to encourage future insanity. (Ahsoka convinced him that two weeks was long enough later.)


	2. One Does Not Simply Mess with Ahsoka

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Various people over the years have tried to harm the little sister of the 501st and of all clones.
> 
> Dedicated to emilygoo.****

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next one-shot was supposed to cover Fox's feelings concerning Ahsoka and a possible reaction from Rex, but I decided to incorporate it into the main storyline. It will be re-worked a bit, but should be posted either later today (it's just past midnight right now) or Monday.

Various people over the years have tried to harm the little sister of the 501st and of all clones. These people included Sith Lords, Seppie military officials, the occasional illegal trophy hunter, but also local scumbags, pirates, overly lustful pervs, and other more minor threats. Ahsoka was never aware of these lesser threats for one reason and one reason only: the clones took care of it.

//////

Ahsoka wanted to check out the local marketplace. They were wrapping up a campaign, so there wasn’t much to do, and Ahsoka had given her best impression of a begging lothcat to the general, so a small group of clones and their little sister made their way happily to the local market. 

While Ahsoka was ooh’ed and ahh’ed over locally made products and pieces, she failed to notice the lecherous looks bestowed to her young form, but the clones didn’t. Jesse, who had was the oldest brother on the mission since Rex got stuck on reloading the ship, nudged the brother next to him (a relatively new member of the 501st named Marks) to watch out for a particularly interested fellow who began to follow them around. When the guy tried to approach Ahsoka (in a slightly shady and kind of deserted part of town), he found himself blocked by two troopers who carried death in their eyes. 

The man wisely decided to duck out, and by the time Ahsoka had turned around to ask their opinion on a painting she had found, she didn’t notice anything to suggest a potential threat had been eliminated.

/////

The reason 79’s was so popular with the clones was that it was one of the most readily available bar open to them, but, on occasion, they would find a bar while on campaign that saw clones as a tolerable source of income and welcomed them heartily. Ahsoka had even been to a couple (reason being the clones had to be accompanied by a Nat superior officer).

In one such bar, Ahsoka had been playing darts with an increasingly drunk Fives. Rex smiled at the scene when he heard: “Would you look at the ass on that?” At first writing it off as men having one too many and making obscene comments, he was going to alert the manager when he heard: “Those clones are lucky, bet they pass her around good.” He felt like ice water had been poured over his head while fire had been injected straight into his veins.

As he walked over, he felt more than heard a few of his brothers fall in line behind him. Apparently, he wasn’t the only one who overheard their disgusting conversation about _their underaged commander_. He motioned to Jesse to get the manager and to Kix to round up the boys before engaging the two men who were laughing and talking loudly about what they would do to the attractive Jedi given the chance. “I think it’s time for you to get lost,” he growled menacingly. One man sobered up immediately and went to go when his friend stopped him. 

“Who’s gonna make us?” asked the significantly drunker man. He wore a smug look only drunks could pull off. Rex said nothing, only stared him down the way he did battledroids. Soon, the man got the hint that he was in hot water (probably due to the troopers behind Rex giving the same look). “I know the owner,” the man slurred in an effort to get them to back off. Rex and the others only continued their Stare Down of Doom until the manager arrived and Rex quickly tore him a new one, stating that if this was the kind of clientele he entertained, he could count on the clones skipping his bar altogether and that he if even thought about charging the Republic for their drinks or food, Rex would personally tell the local authorities about the _many_ underaged minors walking around his bar with Corellian Iced Teas and Republica Martinis.

The entire company then called it a night. Ahsoka was disappointed about not finishing her and Fives’ game of darts, but he claimed to be too drunk, and she bought the excuse. They never did get charged for those drinks.

//////

Wolffe loved the campaigns fought with the 501st, and it wasn’t a secret why. While he was normally gruff and borderline hostile to others outside of the 104th (and sometimes his own men), he always was extremely patient and warm with his favorite _vod’ika_ Ahsoka. So when he had the chance to celebrate a successful campaign with her, he jumped. (Rex was pissed for _weeks_ afterward that Wolffe got _his_ spot and only got over it after Ahsoka took him to a performance of her favorite play.) They went to Dex’s Diner, and Wolffe watched with amusement as Ahsoka retold the stories of the campaign to a small entranced group of factory workers and their families.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a couple of sketchy bounty hunters looking Ahsoka over like they were looking for a price tag. Now, he knew confronting civilians was dangerous for a clone, he knew that confronting dangerous individuals was dangerous for anyone, and he knew he had no backup, but he just didn’t care. He waited for the two to separate before making his move. He took out the guy with the sedatives first since he was the greatest threat, then the other one, a woman and changeling, he took out with the sedatives off the first guy. He worried slightly about getting caught (though not enough to care about the consequences) when a large hand of a Besalisk clasped his shoulder.

Just as he was sure he was about to find out about the Force with some first-hand experience, the man just said, “Go on and head back to your table before she figures out something’s up. I’ll take care of these two.” With no other explanation, the Besalisk went and picked up the two limp bodies and threw them into the nearby alley through a door in the kitchen. A waitress slammed the door on the bounty scum before they even hit the floor. 

Wolffe went back to the table and continued as if nothing happened. Next time he was on Coruscant, he took his general to the diner (telling him it came recommended by Ahsoka) and discreetly thanked the man for his help.

“No problem,” he insisted. “I was about to throw them out anyway. I really like that little one and her masters. We go way back, especially Kenobi.” For whatever reason, Wolffe was felt annoyingly indebted to Kenobi. (That ended when he saved Cody by giving him air support on the next campaign as one didn’t count the times somebody saved one’s life but rather the times somebody saved one’s brothers.)

/////

Ahsoka wasn’t feeling well. She had only been drinking water, but she felt woozy and wondered if she accidentally took a drink of one of the boys’ drinks. Looking around, she found Rex and stumbled up to him.

“Rex? I don’t feel so good. I think I drank from one of the boys’ drinks on accident. Think you could take me back to the ship?” she asked, wobbling and swaying from side to side.

“Don’t worry. I got ya,” said Rex as he quickly put one of her arms over his shoulders and one his around her waist. “Jesse?” he called on the way out.

“On it Captain,” the trooper called out. Ahsoka looked at Rex.

“What was that all about?” she asked while stumbling out the door, thankful Rex was holding her up.

“Jesse has to care of a few things now that I’m taking you back to the ship. Mostly just make sure the boys get home in one piece,” he responded. That was the end of their conversation as they made their way to the ship. Once there, Rex helped Ahsoka with her boots and into bed. He even spent the night next to her bunk to ensure she was alright. The next morning she felt dehydrated but fine and was completely unaware of the absolute ass-kicking the men who thought they found an easy mark for the slave trade received from the loyal boys of the 501st.

/////

There were a thousand little incidents like that that Ahsoka was completely unaware of. It wasn’t like that the clones thought she wasn’t capable, but why wake sleeping dogs? Plus, telling Ahsoka would just upset her and make her question her abilities, and no clone ever wanted to do that (if only for their own sake).


	3. To Meet a Youngling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How Master Shaak Ti and Ahsoka met

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Full disclosure, I don't spend a ton of time with kids, but I tried my best here. Let me know what you think.

Master Shaak Ti had just finished debriefing with the Council after returning from a mission. Usually, after a mission, she would retire to her chambers after debriefing, but the gardens called to her that day, so she decided to walk towards whatever she felt the Force pulled her towards. As she neared, she heard quiet little hiccups muffled by what she assumed was little hands. 

Turning a corner, she found she was correct as she stumbled upon a small little Togrutan girl. The little girl was curled into a ball, half stashed under some shrubbery. Her hands were pressed into her mouth like she was trying to stifle her own sobs. Immediately, Shaak felt the need to comfort the small child, but she held back, not wanting to scare the child or make her think she was in trouble.

Spotting a stone bench across from the child, Shaak slowly walked there before sitting down. The crying child didn’t even notice her. “Hello, little one,” she said softly but loudly enough for the child to hear her. Looking up, the child watched her with wide blue eyes filled with tears and fear.

“Please don’t tell Master Yoda! I’ll stop! I promise!” the little girl screamed as she scrambled to pull herself together in front of the Jedi master. It was a bit heartbreaking for Shaak (though she would never say so out loud) to watch someone so young force herself to push her emotions away. Shaak, as an adult and Jedi master, had mastered such an ability long ago out of necessity, but there was no justifiable reason for a child to do so (especially for a child of such a social and interconnected people).

“No worries, little one. Your secret is safe with me. Why don’t you come and sit?” Shaak replied to the little girl calmly. Patting the empty space next to her and looking at the little thing very expectantly, Shaak watched as the small child cautiously walk over and climb onto the bench (for while the bench was the perfect size for adults, the bench came up to the little girl’s chest). “Now, why were you out here, all alone, crying?” Shaak asked.

The little girl sighed and kicked her feet for a beat, but Shaak just waited, knowing that the little girl would eventually break. Then, with her eyes glued to her feet as they kicked back and forth and back, the little girl started to speak. “A couple of my clan members have never seen a Togruta.” She said it as if it explained everything.

“And that makes you sad? Being the only Togruta?” Shaak asked. She could relate. When she first came to the Temple, she had to adjust to the lack of tribe around her. It was hard at first, but she had come around.

“No! It’s not that! It’s just-” the little girl huffed and puffed before seemingly remembering that she wasn’t supposed to act that way and deflating a bit. Shaak wanted to comfort her, to tell her she didn’t do anything wrong, but didn’t want to get in the way of the little girl’s narrative. “It’s just they don’t think Togruta are real. They say I’m just a weird Twi’lek and I’m lying. They keep trying to make me say that I was lying, but I’m not!” At the end, the little girl dramatically crossed her arms and pouted. Shaak would be lying if she said she didn’t find her frustration cute and a bit endearing.

“Well, little one, what is your name?” Shaak finally asked, now having the full story from the adorable little girl. Immediately, almost unconsciously, the little girl sat up straight and looked directly at Shaak with a much calmer attitude.

“My name is Ahsoka, but my friends call me ‘Soka. Momma said that’s called a nickname,” she recited, and Shaak couldn’t stop the smile she felt spread across her face.

“Well, ‘Soka,” Shaak said, making Ahsoka giggle at her own nickname, “my name is Master Shaak Ti.”

Ahsoka gasped, and her eyes went wide in surprise. “You’re a master?! You’re the one Plo told me about!” she exclaimed in excitement.

“Plo?” Shaak asked in amusement while rolling her eyes internally at Plo. Of course, of all the masters in the Jedi Order, he would let a distraught youngling cling to him and call him by his name.

“Uh-huh! He brought me here from my home on Shili. He said I was gonna be a Jedi and have a lightsaber and learn to use the Force and help people. I was really mad at him when he took me to the creche at first, but he promised to visit when he could, but it’s been almost _two weeks_ and I haven’t seen him!” As Ahsoka rambled on, Shaak sat patiently until she finished before speaking again.

“It seems you have a real friend in Master Plo,” Shaak stated simply, smiling down at the young Togruta.

“Yeah,” Ahsoka looked down at her feet again. “You won’t tell him that I was out here, right?” she asked quietly.

“Why don’t you want Master Plo to know?” Shaak asked, and Ahsoka flicked imaginary dirt from her tunic.

“I don’t want him to worry,” Ahsoka said, but Shaak knew it was more than that just from her body language. Little Ahsoka was not an accomplished liar.

“Is that the only reason?” Shaak gently pressed. Ahsoka gave her an uneasy and unsure look before sighing.

“Last time I caused problems with my clan, he got really sad at me,” she let loose, still swinging her feet distractedly though she sat a bit slumped now with her hands under her thighs.

“I see,” Shaak said. Pausing a bit, she took the time to creep closer to the little Togruta. “I don’t know what you did last time, and I’m sure Master Plo would understand this time, but if you really don’t want Master Plo to know, it can our little secret.”

Ahsoka immediately jumped down and spun to face Master Ti with an awed look on her face. “You really mean it? You’ll keep this between us?!” Ahsoka asked as she seemed to bounce and vibrate in place.

“Of course,” Master Ti replied, standing up. “Now, why don’t we two Togrutas explain to your clan the difference between Twi’leks and Togrutas?” Master Ti held out her hand for Ahsoka to hold, but in the little girl’s excitement, Ahsoka simply gave Master Ti a ginormous smile and took off running down the path to her clan’s designated area. Chuckling, Master Ti followed the feisty little girl to her clan as she lively chattered about this and that youngling or droid.


	4. Alternate Ending to "From Friends to Lovers"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The alternate ending to Chapter 64 in "Without a Goodbye." The first paragraph is just to show where it would go if it were part of that chapter.

A chill ran up Bly’s spine, the kind he got when they were in the middle of the most crucial part of a mission that the intell was _bad_. It spoke of lost brothers and narrow escapes and impossible odds. Only this time, he got the chills beforehand, and he still was going to go. “When do we leave?” he asked.

“ _We_ aren’t going,” Aayla said, lifting her head to face him. “ _I’m_ going. _You_ are going to stay here with the men and finish the reviews.”

“No!” His answer was immediate. “No, Aayla, I’m not just going to stay behind so you can get slaughtered.” His grip on her shoulders tightened though he only knew from the way Aayla winced and shrugged her shoulders. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay.” Aayla looked down. “I need you to stay here Bly. I can’t let you come with me.” She looked up at him, directly into his eyes. “I can’t let you die.” 

“Oh, but I can?!” he yelled at her. He let her go and started towards the other side of the room, suddenly needing physical space between himself and her. 

“Bly, please, be reasonable,” Aayla pleaded as she chased after him in the small room.

Bly spun around again to face Aayla from a mere foot away, fury evident in his face though Aayla didn’t show any sign of fear or surprise. “Why should I? You’re not. How can you honestly tell me, _me_ , after all we’ve been through, to stay behind?” he demanded hotly.

“Because I love you.” She said it like it was obvious, but Bly was never more confused.

“What?” he asked dumbly. He could only stare as Aayla rolled her eyes and marched her way even closer.

“I. Love. You. I don’t know when it started or how. All I know is that I refuse to let you march off on your way to your death. I love you too much for that,” she explained before reaching up and pulling him down to kiss her, but even as her warm lips caressed his with every promise, he felt ice spread through his very veins until he couldn’t take it anymore.

Bly calmly reached up, removed Aayla’s hands from his neck, and stepped back. “If you really loved me, you wouldn’t even try to convince me to stay.” He spoke lowly and coldly, the personification of a deadly winter.

“Bly,” Aayla started with a hint of hurt in her voice, trying step closer as if to bridge the distance between them she just created with her demands.

“No. You don’t get to decide when and how I die. I’m a _soldier_ for Force’s sake. I could die at any moment.” Aayla winced at that last statement, but Bly in his anger couldn’t possibly bring himself to care, mostly because it was the truth. “To top that off, my lifespan is already half of what it should be, so no, you don’t get to declare your love for me, just so I’ll stay behind while you’re off committing suicide.”

“Bly, that wasn’t what I was try-” Aayla started to say, but Bly was already at the door.

“I’ll be readying the ship, General, if you’ll be so kind as to set up temporary command,” Bly slipped out over his shoulder while he opened the door and left.

“Bly wai-” Aayla called, but the door cut her off. As he walked down the corridor with purpose towards the hangar, Bly half expected Aayla to run after him but was thankful when she didn’t. What should’ve been the happiest moment of his life was ruined by a Sith Lord, a suicide mission, and what he could only understand as his Jedi general, his best friend, and the love of his life trying to manipulate him into staying behind. Everything was just so twisted and confusing and wrong that Bly didn’t know what to trust half the time, but he did know one thing: he would not stay behind.


	5. The Hissing Monster

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Obi-wan can't sleep and neither can little Ani.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To keep y'all held over until I can update the main story. I had this in my personal notes so I could get a better feel for Obi-wan's and Anakin's relationship in this story.

Obi-wan tossed and turned. For some reason, despite being physically exhausted (teaching Anakin was turning out to be a challenge of a lifetime though he found it extremely fulfilling even after only a week), sleep refused to come. Obi-wan had tried everything at this point: teas, meditations, counting backwards, changing the sheets, turning on the fan, turning the fan off, nothing worked.

Then, the door opened quietly as if someone was trying to sneak in. Obi-wan didn’t bother to move. He had a feeling he knew who it was, and when a small body got up on the bed and shook his shoulder, he knew he was right.

“Obi,” a tiny voice whispered urgently. “Obi-wan, are you awake?” asked Anakin.

Obi-wan internally sighed. “Yes, Anakin, I’m awake,” he replied, still not moving from his spot on the bed.

“Okay.” Anakin didn’t move or say anything for a moment, and Obi-wan called on his patience to not ask what the boy wanted as he was finding that Anakin’s past, while not physically damaging, had significantly and socially stunted the boy, especially in regards to authority. After a slightly alarming meltdown earlier in the week when Anakin had hurt himself accidentally and Obi-wan had insisted they go to the Halls of Healing for treatment, Obi-wan had learned to allow Anakin to take things at his own pace. “Obi, I think there’s an invisible monster in my room.”

At this, Obi-wan turned over and looked at Anakin in confusion. He was met with a scared but determined little face, and Obi-wan felt his heart squeeze for the boy. “Anakin, why do you say that?” he asked, a little perplexed as Anakin didn’t seem to be the kind to believe in monsters or ghosts anymore.

“I hear it! I hear it hissing!” the boy exclaimed quietly, looking around cautiously as if he expected the monster to materialize in the room. 

Finally curious enough to warrant getting out of bed, Obi-wan sat up and got out of bed. Reaching out his hand for Anakin, he led the little boy back to his room once his hand was secured in his grasp. Once there, Obi-wan didn’t hear any hissing in the bright room.

“Anakin, I don’t hear anything,” he said. Then, the water in the pipes in the wall moved, and Anakin gave a gasp and hid his face in Obi-wan’s thigh. “Is that the hissing you were talking about? Anakin, it’s just the water in the pipes,” explained Obi-wan as he placed his hand on Anakin’s head to calm his padawan’s fears. 

“What?” asked Anakin. The poor thing looked even more scared and confused at the notion of water in pipes.

“The water in the pipes. It moves every time someone uses the water. I know water was more scarce on Tatooine, but surely you had-” Obi-wan cut himself off. Clearly, the boy didn’t know anything of indoor plumbing like they had at the Temple if he thought the pipes hissing meant an invisible monster had infiltrated his room. “Alright, what would make you comfortable, Anakin?”

Anakin looked down and shuffled his feet a bit, still holding on to Obi-wan’s thigh. “Can, can I sleep with you tonight?” Obi-wan could hear the hope under Anakin’s uncertainty, and a part of himself rejoiced at being this boy’s source of comfort though he knew it went against the Jedi Code.

Smiling ruefully, Obi-wan responded, “Fine, but just for -” Anakin took off happily for Obi-wan’s room. “- tonight,” he finished to an empty room. Shaking his head in fondness, Obi-wan turned off the light to Anakin’s room, closed the door, and returned to his own room to find his padawan grinning at him from his bed, already under the blanket. Climbing into bed next to Anakin, Obi-wan didn’t even try to scold Anakin when the child snuggled up to place his head on Obi-wan’s chest. Soon, Anakin was asleep, and so was Obi-wan.


End file.
